This invention relates to an assembly plant for assembling industrial products, and in particular vehicles.
A generic assembly plant is known from European Patent EP 0 738 652 B1. It has a central area with hall areas branching off from it radially or in a cross-shaped configuration with U-shaped conveyor loops in each hall area. Other separate assembly plants are provided in the intermediate spaces, where modules can be preassembled. Short conveyance pathways for the preassembled modules can be achieved with this arrangement.
One disadvantage of this basic concept of final assembly for vehicles is its restricted flexibility with respect to changes in assembly sequences and integration of different automotive concepts.
The object of the present invention is to remedy this situation.
This object is achieved by a central elongated assembly hall provided with finger-like hall extensions branching off from it on a longitudinal side. The conveyor devices run on the longitudinal sides of the central assembly hall and on the outer sides of the hall extensions so that a U-shaped path is obtained on the whole. Thus at least one transverse side of the hall is free and is available for design changes, lengthening the hall and thus also the conveyor path without making far-reaching changes in the overall sequence.
This arrangement is especially advantageous in combination with the refinement of essentially automated assembly sites in the central assembly hall, and manual assembly sites in the finger-like partial regions. As a rule, automated assembly sites always require the same amount of space regardless of the type of vehicle to be produced. They are therefore arranged in the central assembly hall and in addition to determining the space required for incoming deliveries (e.g., via trucks), they also determine the grid spacing for the finger-like hall extensions. A change in the manual work places accommodated in the finger-like hall extensions is possible with no problem in the event of a production change through a simple extension of the design at the head end or through changes in the availability of materials and optionally the displacement of handling equipment. This permits a separation of labor-intensive manual work from automated complex processes.
Especially short paths for the workers are achieved by arranging the work rooms and/or social rooms between the legs of the U-shaped conveyor devices. These are provided along a central axis.
The refinement of the invention, in which supply lines for nearby assembly lines are arranged above the work rooms and/or social rooms, simplifies the structural complexity, also with respect to a simple expansion of the assembly halls.
Additional embodiments below and in the claims describe simple designs for the conveyor systems and the transport of materials to the assembly sites.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.